


Breaking In and Stealing Stuff

by lightkeykid



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Ant Man AU, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Garrison trio
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-10-02 17:58:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17268776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightkeykid/pseuds/lightkeykid
Summary: Lance is trying to piece his life back together after his time in prison. The Holts have a proposition for him.





	1. Free at Last

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is inspired by [flik98's art](https://flik98.tumblr.com/post/181493190726/i-was-watching-ant-man-and-the-wasp-again-the)

He wasn't expecting fanfare, but he figured that at least Hunk would bring Keith. Sure, they weren't best friends, but it wasn't every day he got out of jail for vigilante thievery.

Lance, for his part, did not regret most of his incarceration. The Galra Corporation hid major secrets that hurt people, and his work helped uncover some of those secrets. He only wished he could have revealed more before he was caught and imprisoned. His only regret was the dishonor on his family. The siblings supported him in public during his trial, but only Veronica and Rachel visited him in prison. His brothers refused and his poor parents… Needless to say, the McClains were collateral damage.

But the past was the past, and all that mattered now was rebuilding his shattered life starting with greeting his best friend in the whole world.

"Hunk!" He jumped into his buddy's waiting arms.

"Lance the Sharpshooter is finally out of the slammer!" Hunk spun him around like a rag doll, but Lance did not mind. Two years had passed without a Hunk Hug, and he savored every moment of it.

"I've missed your hugs, but I need my body back if I am going to get started on the straight and narrow."

"Oh yeah." Hunk lowered Lance gently. "Am I taking you to Rachel's or Veronica's?"

"Neither. My parole officer says he found a place for me at a halfway house until I find a job. How hard could that be?"  
\---  
Lance carried the box of meager possessions he had to Hunk's van. "Thanks again for taking me in man. It's surprisingly hard for a felon to find work."

"I told you that Vrepit Sal runs a tight ship. You wouldn't be a dishwasher let alone allowed near the food. He is a high-end employer." Hunk pulled away from the halfway house.

"You would think someone would give an aerospace engineer a job. I have a master's degree!" Lance whined as he leaned back in the van's seat.

Hunk snorted. "And you used it to be Robin Hood."

At least he was good at being Robin Hood. Sharpshooter had found plenty of workarounds in the Galra systems to bring down real bad people before he was caught. All Lance McClain could do was get fired from the local mall hangout.

"I don't see you running around building flying cars either," Lance grumbled.

Engineering had brought the two together at Altea Tech during their freshman year. A random assignment as project partners plus a taste of Hunk's cooking made them best friends. Nothing could separate them after that. Lance went on to get his master's while Hunk found a job with an engineering firm. His firm worked with Galra Corp. Once Lance finished his degree, Hunk hooked him up in the aeronautics division of Galra.

That was where all of their trouble began. While conducting quality control checks on one of the newer models, Lance found shortcuts and forgeries all over the paperwork. One of the models was a passenger plane set to launch commercially in a matter of months. Lance found out that these cuts were not limited to his division, but were rampant throughout the entire company.

He tried his best to catch everything, but he got sloppy towards the end. Hunk and Keith offered to confess as well in solidarity, but he refused their offer. No point in ruining three lives when one was enough.

From what Hunk had said, he and Keith abandoned any connection to their former positions at Galra Corp. Hunk was a small scale mechanic in his family's garage and Keith… well, Hunk never explained specifically what Keith did. All he mentioned was that he moved into his dad's old shack in the desert.

Hunk broke the silence in the van. "I don't mention it enough, but thanks, man." He patted Lance on the shoulder. "You hide it well, but prison--"

"It's okay Hunk." He smiled at his best friend. "You don't have to say it for me to understand. I got you and you got me."

They turned into their destination, and Lance looked up. "Hey, you didn't tell me that you moved!"

Hunk avoided his eyes and looked sheepish. "Well, I didn't…" and then he muttered something under his breath that Lance could not catch.

"What was that?" He asked, crossing his arms. "I didn't hear you."

"Just leave your stuff here and come with me. And listen to the whole spiel before you make any decisions, okay?" Lance knew that voice. That was Hunk's "I want to help you blow the whistle but I am scared of everything that entails" voice. He trusted Hunk with his life, but the big guy had a penchant for landing him in sticky situations.

The house in front of them was a Victorian home that screamed old money, or at the very least, well off eccentric. There was a freaking spire on it. What kind of house had spires anymore? Lance was pretty sure spires were reserved for haunted houses abandoned in the woods, not suburban neighborhoods.

"Don't worry! We'll be in and out," Hunk reassured him and knocked on the door. It swung open by itself to an empty entryway. They entered to check and see if it was really empty or just a hoax.

Lance let out a high pitched squeak and said, "Hunk, you brought me to a haunted house. Thank you for the experience, but I am leaving now."

The door behind them swung shut, and he heard the faint thud of a deadbolt. He turned to his former friend and hissed, "If I die here tonight, I am haunting your ghost till the end of time."

Hunk mutely nodded as he started to walk down the dimly lit hallway. It was sunny outside, but with all of the thick lace covering every window, no one could tell.

"Come on, they should be in here." Hunk pointed to a large oak door.

"Who is they?!" Lance was slightly ashamed at the squeak in his voice, but fear drove the shame away.

The door opened with a groan and revealed a short woman standing with arms akimbo and an impatient glare. Her honey eyes flashed in the hallway's light, and Lance was entranced.

"If you two are ready, we would like to discuss business with you. Is that alright?" Her sharp words broke him from his trance.

Lance scowled and was about to retort when Hunk spoke first. "Don't blame Lance, Pidge. He's not used to the secrecy."

Another voice came from next to the fireplace. "That's not what it said in the newspapers. After all, what is Robin Hood without a little secrecy." A sharply-dressed woman rose from a chair in the room and approached Lance. Her short golden hair was coiffed at the neck, and the only jewelry Lance could see was a wedding band and earrings. If this woman had money, she was not ostentatious about it. She looked him up and down not once, but three times. "You will fit." She returned to her seat next to the fire.

Hunk gave him a little shove to push him toward the other empty chairs. The younger woman stood next to the fireplace and kept the unimpressed look on her face. He focused on the woman sitting across from him at the time being.

"My name is Colleen Holt and I have a proposition for you, Mr. McClain. Have you ever heard of Antman?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on Tumblr at [lightkeykid.tumblr.com](lightkeykid.tumblr.com)


	2. Familiar Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge has an explosive reunion with an old friend.

_Three Weeks Prior:_

Katie "Pidge" Holt was on her last limb as she pulled into the garage Iverson recommended to her. Her car had a flat tire, she nearly twisted her ankle this morning after back to back meetings, and someone kept following her. She was sure about it.

 After the break-in at the Garrison, she expected more eyes to be on her, but not like this. Along with the main laboratory, the thieves ransacked her office and no one else's. Not even Commander Iverson's office was touched. Nothing had been stolen from her office except for a copy of her family photo on her desk. Katie had not mentioned it to the onsite police, but it did shake her up a little.

In the weeks since the break-in, odd events happened around her. That first night, she awoke to Bae-bae barking and a shadow moving outside on her balcony. She would have assumed it was a passerby if she didn't live on the fourth floor of her building. Then she started receiving dropped calls on her private cell line. Today was the most recent event when she got a flat in her brand new set of tires.

Quiznak, I am working with amateurs if they think a flat tire will scare me, she thought as she parked in the vehicle bay. She stepped out of the car and found the garage empty. What a quaint place. Compared to the vehicle bay at the Garrison, this was small potatoes, but Iverson said this was the best place around; said he knew the family. He was the only one he could trust at the Garrison right now, despite his friendship with her mother.

"Is anyone here?" Katie called out.

"Hi, there!" She jumped back when she saw a tall bulky man step out from behind a car. He wore a yellow bandana around his forehead and a smile on his face. He was familiar, but she couldn't place where she knew him from. "Whatcha need?"

"I have a flat in the rear passenger side. How long will it take to fix it?"

The man grinned at her. "You're in luck. I am completely free for the rest of the afternoon. Let me take a look." He glanced at her feet and gestured to the bench. "Feel free to take a seat; it shouldn't be long until I am finished."

"I'm fine standing." Her pride mattered more to her than her aching feet. The mechanic did not react to her curt tone and went to get his tools.

"You know, you look familiar. Previous customer?" He asked from his workbench.

"No." She watched as he carefully sorted through the different tools and instruments on the bench. He claimed it wouldn't take long, but here he was, spending precious time finding his equipment.  Katie resisted the urge to tap her foot; her childhood habit did not work in three-inch heels, and especially not after twisting her ankle.

"Do you work for the Galaxy Garrison? Most people around here do. I used to go there all the time for my old job."

She was curious now. "Mechanic's bay?"

"No ma'am," he said with a grin. "I was an engineer at Balmera up until a couple of years ago."

Balmera. That was a name she had not heard in a while. They were a big Garrison contract in their alternative energy program.

"Balmera was bought out by Galra Corp a couple of years ago," she wondered aloud.

"Worst day ever. If it wasn't for that merger, I might have made something with my life. Most of my coworkers lost their jobs," He answered somberly.

She felt a pang at his tone. "What's your name?" She asked. "We still might have met at some point at the Garrison." Granted, she only finished her Ph.D. at that point, but they could have crossed paths.

He smiled brightly and said, "Hunk! Hunk Garret, at your service."

Her jaw dropped. "No way!" She found herself shouting.

Hunk turned to her with a sheepish grin. "The one and only? Wow, I've never had that reaction before. People usually scream for Keith, not me," he finished with a chuckle.

"Hunk we went to high school together. Pidge Holt!" When she saw that he didn't recognize her still, she fished her reader's out of her satchel and put them on.

It took him a second, then his eyes bugged out. "Little Pidgey? Standing in my garage? In heels? This can't be real." He held his hand against his heart.

"Shut up." She blushed with a small smile. If she was correct, it was her first smile in the last few days.

"Let's get your car checked out, and then we'll catch up," Hunk suggested, hurrying toward her sedan. "How old is this thing anyway?"

He knelt down to check the tire lugs. Pidge moved a little closer when she heard a faint wheeze. "Pidge!" Hunk gasped. "Move back very slowly. There is something attached to your fluid line, and it's ticking."

She started to back away and noticed that Hunk wasn't coming with her. "Get over here; it's not safe."

He shook his head. "I've seen something like this before. Luckily since your car is older than dirt," she ignored that jab, "It will most like only set it on fire, rather than explode. Honestly, I would have expected a fancy computer car from you." He began fiddling with a part underneath the carriage.

"Fancy cars are easily hacked, unlike the classics. You're gonna get hurt," she said urgently. He ignored her and continued doing whatever he did. She took out her phone to call the police. If he didn't see sense, then she would have to. Not another second later, she heard a snap and a sharp whine of air being released. Hunk moved away from her car holding a small device.

"Here's the little troublemaker. How about some coffee and cookies while you explain why we are in a spy thriller?"

\---

Pidge took a cookie from the plate in front of her and bit into it. She nearly groaned with happiness. She faintly remembered Hunk's love of cooking from high school, but this was definitely a new level.

"These are amazing Hunk," She said with her mouth full.

"I'm glad you like the cookies, but I'm gonna need answers. Why did you have a trigger on your car?"

She dropped her gaze. "If I tell you, you won't believe me. We are in some real trouble."

Hunk looked down at his coffee; he stared at it for a good minute too. "Look, I know what trouble is like too. If it wasn't for my best friend, I'd be knee deep in it. Try me."

His concerned look undid her. She explained the basics of the problem. The Galaxy Garrison was working on quantum energy devices that manipulated quintessence. The LIONs could be the next frontier of physics. Her father, Commander Samuel Holt, was the lead on Project Voltron when the experiment went wrong three years ago. He was testing a LION when he disappeared into thin air. No one knew what happened to him or the Black LION. The project was shelved and classified, until recently when Katie and her brother Matt reopened their research.

That's when the new trouble came in. Thieves broke into the Garrison with the intent to steal the LIONs but were caught in the act. Instead, they took most of the research involved and kidnapped Matt. She suspected the Galra Corp was behind the theft, but without proof, she couldn't do anything.

When she finished telling her story, she took a deep breath and looked at Hunk. It was insane, but it was the truth. She did not lose much if he didn't believe her; after all, he was only a friend from high school. Still, he might have been her only real friend in high school, and she already felt ashamed she didn't remember him better. Eight years had passed since he graduated, but he was the same goofy and caring guy he had been back then.

"Okay first off, dang. That's some year you're having. Sorry about your family. How's your mom-"

"We're not going there," she growled.

"Noted. Two, what a small world. The Galra screwed me and my buddies over too."

"Tell me more." She leaned in. "Tell me everything." The more she knew about the Galra, the better.

\---

"Pidge, why are we underneath your mom's house?" Hunk asked quietly as Pidge led him through the basement.

"Someone is watching me. Mom and I, we-- well, we had a falling out a couple of months ago, and we're distant enough where the Galra don't have her on the radar. No need to put her there." Pidge did not add why they had that falling out. He'd have that answer soon enough.

"But what-"

"Stop asking so many questions and follow me!" She barked and brought him into a fancy looking study containing a library and her mother. Pidge currently preferred the library portion.

"Colleen, I brought Hunk as you asked me to," She said to her mother's back.

Hunk raised an eyebrow. "You asked for me?"

Colleen Holt turned around and faced them. She took in Hunk's appearance and shook her head. "He's not a good fit Katie. I am not choosing him."

"But he is the best for the job. He is a mechanical genius and beyond that, he knows how the Galra work," she argued.

Her mother ignored her words, as usual, and spoke to Hunk. "Mr. Garret, you might remember me. I am Commander Colleen Holt." She held out her hand. He shook it firmly. Pidge saw the slight smile on her mother's face.  "I have read your file."

He blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I may not be at the Garrison full-time anymore, but I have my sources. I request full information about any potential contacts for this job."

"And what does my file say?" He inquired.

Colleen smiled. "It says that you are a brave and righteous person, but not one to go into the fray. You support your teammates don't you?"

Hunk blushed. Pidge wanted to retch. She needed to get to the point. "My team is everything to me."

"So how did you escape the Galra?" She asked. "I read the police notes. I saw the building schematic. It was a suicide mission."

"If you read the file, then you already know the answer ma'am," He said quietly.

Pidge had not read the file, and now she desperately wanted to. What was in the file? "What are you two talking about?"

"Hunk Garret is fit for a job, but not the one you brought him here for. I need you on my team, Hunk. Can I trust you to recruit one more?" She asked softly. A look of understanding passed between them, and Hunk's face darkened.

"He just got out of prison. His life is in shambles right now," Hunk argued.

Colleen nodded. "Robin Hoods have that problem once the Sheriff catches them. But I don't believe that he'll give up until there is justice." She stepped behind her desk. "He's meant for more than Vrepit Sal's, and you know it."

"Do you have a file on everyone?" He joked. "I can't promise you anything. If he is doing alright in his life, I'll let him do what he needs to. I have to give him a chance."

"That is acceptable." She gestured to the door. "If you could exit, I need to speak to my daughter alone, please."

He turned to Pidge and waited. A few moments passed before she realized that he was asking for her permission. She nodded and added, "I'll text you later."

He shook Colleen's hand once more and left them alone. Pidge counted to ten seconds and breathed in deeply. At ten seconds, she exhaled loudly and asked, "Why are you insisting on being difficult?"

Her mother's eyes flashed. "I told you my specifications when you came to me for help. I am simply abiding by my own rules."

"If you told me your specifications, then it would be easier to find your candidate. I don't know why I am trying when you won't even tell me why you need a candidate in the first place. With me and now Hunk-"

"You two are not enough. I am asking you to trust me Katie. If you had just trusted me-" Colleen broke off her words with a sob.

"Just say it! You've been holding it back; why can't you say it to my face? You blame me for Matt's kidnapping. We reopened Dad's project, and it put a target on our backs."

"This discussion is over," Colleen said in a choked voice. "You are dismissed."

Pidge refused to act childishly in front of her mother, when all she wanted to do was stomp her foot in anger. "Fine." She was petty enough to slam the study door on the way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is definitely longer than the first. Looking back on it, I'll probably go back and edit the first one this weekend.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr at [lightkeykid.tumblr.com](lightkeykid.tumblr.com)


	3. Living Legends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Colleen chat and get to know each other.

_Present:_

Lance was not sure what he expected to hear, but that wasn't it. The woman in front of him spoke in such a serious tone that the silly words sounded absurd.

"I've heard of Iron Man? Any relation?" He swore he heard a growl come from the other woman. Had Hunk called her Pidge? What kind of name was that? He studied her in a few glances over Colleen's shoulder.

Short brown bob, sleek black blazer, and black slacks screamed way above his level.

"Lance," Hunk groaned beside him and stuck his face in his hands. "Be serious."

"Look, Antman, Iron Man, or Cabbage Man, I don't care. What do you want from me?" Sometimes the best way forward was to be blunt. At the very least, it would get him kicked out faster.

Colleen smiled and turned to his friend. "Hunk, can you escort my daughter to fetch the refreshments. They will go well with the lemonade."

"I am not fetching anything!" The daughter in question shouted.

Colleen's face hardened. "Give me five minutes, Katie." They shared a look, and with a groan, she pulled a confused Hunk out of the room.

Lance followed Colleen to the set of chairs in front of the fireplace and took a seat. So many questions fought to be asked in his head, but only one prevailed. "Is her name Katie or Pidge?"

Colleen smiled. "I named her Katie, and that is what I will always call her. My son started calling her Pidge when they were younger. Unfortunately, I have other matters to discuss with you." Her tone was somber.

Lance did not do somber well. Ask Hunk. One time Hunk failed a test in school (the only time really), Lance made it his personal goal to put a smile on his face. Unfortunately, that entailed making a fool of himself in front of their entire Thermodynamics class, but it was all worth it to see Hunk smiling again. As long as Lance was around, he could not let anyone be somber for too long. Not even this lady in a haunted Victorian house.

"Yes. Antman. I figured whoever lived in a house with lace curtains and a spire would be eccentric, but I didn't expect one who believed in legends, Mrs. Holt."

Colleen leaned in and whispered, "Call me Colleen. So you have heard of Antman?" One side of her lips lifted, and Lance swore she smirked at him.

He could only grin in return. "Of course I have. I even have the first edition trading card of Antman and Wasp. Can't have one without the other!"

Her face fell. "That's what we thought too." She fidgeted with the band on her left hand. "What if I told you that the Wasp was sitting in front of you?"

"I would ask for proof."

She tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair. "As you should."

He brushed off the first ant as an accident. The second one crawled over his hand shamelessly. The thirty that followed that one were menaces, each and every one of them.

"What the hell?" He shrieked and jumped up. He swung his hand around, trying to dislodge some of them, but they did not budge. A small giggle escaped Colleen, and when he looked at her, she seemed perfectly serene, ignoring the chaos of Lance and the ants.

She tapped her finger on the arm once more, and the ants fell off his hand instantly. He fell back into the chair once

"Did you send those ants?" He ignored the crack of his voice. There were more important issues.

Colleen nodded. "You asked for proof, and I provided it." She paused. "I apologize for scaring you, but I needed you to believe me."

Lance certainly believed her now. The Wasp. Sitting in front of him. He heard stories of the legendary crime-fighting duo from his parents. No one else understood his love for the shrinking superheroes. Other kids had Spider-Man lunchboxes or dressed up as Thor for Halloween. Lance asked his parents if he could have an ant farm to train. The McClains denied him that gift, but instead, they gave him his treasured card.

"You really are her. But didn’t you retire decades ago?" He tried and failed to not sound like a fanboy.

Colleen nodded. "I am no longer the Wasp you remember. Sam and I gave up the mantles when I had Matt. Of course, we couldn't be gallivanting around and facing dangerous villains with a child depending on us."

"Sam being Antman?"

"He was," Colleen said with a sob. "My husband was a brave genius, and I- I don’t-" She could not get the words out.

"Do you need a minute? I can leave-"

"No!" She said sharply and took a deep breath. "We don't have time. Stay."

Colleen took one, then two, deep breaths in and out. "He is one of the reasons I need you. Four years ago, my husband started researching the science behind our old suits. Dr. Pym, the inventor, died with the secret of the Pym particle that allowed us to shrink down without disrupting the integrity of our system. Sam wanted to delve farther than the Pym particle and into the quantum realm."

"The Galaxy Garrison funded our research on the condition that our project remained top secret. Only a select few knew about the nature of Project Voltron. Then one day, the unthinkable happened, and Sam disappeared with one of the devices we developed."

"Wait, he disappeared!"

"Into thin air, Lance. I saw it with my own eyes."

"My condolences." He couldn't imagine seeing the one you loved disappear in front of you. It was heart wrenching to be apart from his family for two years, but at least he knew where they were.

"The Garrison resumed the project a few months ago. Unfortunately, the Garrison was not as secure as promised, and the Voltron lab was infiltrated. My son, Matthew, was in the lab at the time. He secured the four LIONS that remained,  and they took him instead."

How did this woman have the strength to stand let alone make jokes when all this had happened to her? She may not wear the suit anymore, but it didn't stop her from being a superhero.

"Is there a lead on the break-in?" Lance flipped through the names of the inmates in his cellblock. Perhaps one of them may have connections to local crews. It was a pale start, seeing how the Galaxy Garrison had the best security in this side of the country. These were no small-time criminals.

"Katie and I believe that the Galra Corporation was behind it."

Lance was a pretty chill guy. He was quick to make a joke and even quicker to wear a smile. Rarely, if ever, did he get angry. With one mention of the Galra however, he saw red. "Of course; who else could it be?" He asked through clenched teeth.

Colleen met his eyes with the same intensity he felt. "You see Lance, we share common interests. You understand the true nature of the Galra as do I, and you have gone head to head with them before. I read your file; you are surprisingly qualified."

"Thank you?" He guessed that was high praise coming from a former superhero.

"I assume you will be interested in helping us."

He wanted nothing more than to accept. But it wasn't that easy. Lance needed to rebuild his life and reconnect with his family; he couldn't afford to be Robin Hood anymore. His brothers hadn't returned any of his calls nor had his parents. One more slip up and he was afraid Veronica and Rachel would turn away too.

"Colleen, I want to help. The Galra framed me and stripped me of any credibility I had. I'm still recovering from that blow. I can't jump into a rescue mission when I'm not stable myself."

She nodded her head and stood quietly from the chair.  She walked to her desk and picked up an envelope. "Inside is a contract entailing your compensation in this mission, including how much I can pay you. Nothing exorbitant, I assure you, but enough to compete with Vrepit Sal's. And I won't fire you for setting a pot on fire."

How had she heard about the fire? He hadn't even told Hunk about that part of the incident.

"Still, if that is not enough to convince you, I still have one more card up my sleeve." Colleen clicked a button on her desk, extinguishing the fire. Another click began rotating the wall, revealing an empty cylinder. She pressed one last button to reveal a blue and grey suit in the cylinder. A suit that looked like the one on his precious trading card.

His jaw fell open. "Oh quiznak."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I name dropped a couple of the Avengers in this chapter, but I'm not sure how involved I want to get with that side of the story. Let's not get too complicated, right? 
> 
> Find me on Tumblr at [lightkeykid.tumblr.com](lightkeykid.tumblr.com)


	4. Debriefing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge still isn't sure what to think of Lance, but at this rate, what other choice do the Holts have?

_I am a grown woman. I have a doctorate. I will not overreact to my mother's behavior._ Pidge cycled through these sentences in her head as she carried the tray with the lemonade back to the study. Hunk followed closely behind with the cookies and pastries he made earlier this morning.

"Lance is one of the best people I know Pidge. If Colleen wants him, she's got the right man for the job." Hunk attempted to placate her. It was a sweet gesture, but she held no ire for his friend. Well, except for his cocky grin when answering the Antman question. She wanted to smack it right off his face.

Hunk was right, though. If his file was correct, and Colleen's files never failed, then he was perfect for what Pidge needed. As for what Colleen needed, only Colleen could ask for. Pidge knew that she was not the expert on her mother. Even before the colossal fight, they drifted apart. Losing her father was hard enough, but if not for Matt, Colleen's distance would have finished her.

"Let's just get back to the meeting. We've been gone long enough; let's see if there's any of your friend left to work with." She smirked as they reached the door.

Hunk's eyebrows disappeared into his bandana. "You don't think…" He trailed off.

Pidge turned around and used her elbow to open the study door. "Who knows? We'll see in a few seconds," she whispered conspiratorially with a smile.

When she entered the study, however, she dropped both the smile and the tray. Lance and her mother stood in front of a cylinder holding her father's suit. The same suit that Colleen said he was wearing when he disappeared.

"Katie, are you okay?" She heard her mother's question, but the only thing that registered right now was the suit. Pidge had only seen pictures; never had she seen it in real life. Now her mother was showing it to a complete stranger.

A strangled laugh escaped her mouth. Pidge didn’t recognize the sound, but she recognized the hysteria behind it. “What are you doing?” Somehow, the words came out.

“I was explaining the job to Lance, as you asked. Why are you acting strange?” Colleen’s harsh words brought Pidge back to reality.

“Strange? Funny, that’s what I was thinking when you decided to show someone you met today the Antman suit.” She stepped over the tray that she dropped, lemonade spilled and forgotten. “Continue your explanation.” In hindsight, she regretted leaving Hunk with the mess on the floor, but right now, all she wanted was to finish this meeting. She took the chair that her mother abandoned and waved a hand to Lance. To his credit, he didn’t understand what was going on either.

“As I was saying, Lance, you will be compensated.” Colleen continued speaking after the interruption. “In the duration of the mission, you will train in the Antman suit, and learn the ways around it. Along with payment, you and Hunk will stay here until the job is over, and after it is, we can part ways and never speak again.”

Lance grinned when she mentioned the suit. “I noticed you avoid mentioning what I’ll be actually doing. I’m gonna be straight with you; my days of breaking in and stealing stuff are over! I am on the straight and narrow now ma’am, so don’t worry.”

Oh, was he in for a surprise. He thought Colleen was worried about the legal ramifications of their mission. Adorable. Pidge stole a glance at her mother who wore a sneaky smile. “That’s good news and bad news. I am glad to hear you are going to live a legal life, but to get there, I’m going to need you to break in and steal some “stuff” for me.”

She wished she had a camera there to capture Lance’s face. He looked like a fish that saw a shark approaching, and this fish had no idea what kind of shark Colleen Holt was.  
He ran a hand through his already messy brown hair. “Well, that’s par for the course then. Hunk, you’re okay with this?” He called over his shoulder. Hunk gave him a smile and a thumbs up.

“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have brought you here, buddy. I’m in it if you are.”

Lance turned back to meet her eyes. It was the first time she had the chance to actually see him. Earlier, she focused on her mother and her anger, but now the opportunity arose. From what she could tell, prison left him untouched physically. No visible scarring or mutilations. Lucky him. Inside, however… that was another matter entirely. His blue eyes hid his feelings, unlike her betraying ones. Dad always said that he always knew how she felt based on her eyes.

“And what about you Pidge?” The use of her nickname jarred her.

She narrowed her eyes. “It’s Katie to you.”

“What part are you playing here?” He raised an eyebrow, challenging her to say something. If he threw down the gauntlet, she gladly would pick it up.

Colleen interrupted before she responded. “Katie is an instructor and researcher at the Garrison, and her specialty is quantum physics and electrical engineering.”

“What my mother left out is that along with my brother, I was the lead on Project Voltron. I am the reason all of this happened.” She looked up at Lance once more. His eyes softened.  
“Katie is the only one who knows how the LIONs actually work in their current form. Matt was the coding specialist on the project, but Katie is the operator. You will need her help to bring the Black LION and my son safely back to the Garrison.”

“This is going to be a rescue mission?” Lance asked incredulously. “Impossible.”

Pidge finally lost her temper. “That’s my brother they took!” She shouted. She stood and leaned over him. “They kidnapped my brother and my work to use for some nefarious reason, and all you can do is scoff at the idea of rescuing him.” She roughly poked him in the chest. “From what Hunk was saying, it seemed like you were a hero, but right now-”

“I’m gonna have to stop you there.” He grabbed her hand and stood up. She hadn’t realized how tall he was until that moment. He towered over her but looked more annoyed than angry. “It’s impossible for just the three of us. We’re going to need help. The Galra run a tight ship, and infiltration is the least of our worries.” Lance said the words to Colleen, but he kept a tight grip on her hand.

“I will thoroughly vet anyone you suggest, but you are free to make your team,” Colleen said. “Welcome to the team, Lance.”  
Lance leaned slightly over Pidge. She did not move back an inch. “Glad to be here, Commander.” Their gazes locked onto each other, only to be broken in the next moment.

“Business is over. Time for cookies!” Hunk put his snack on the tea table between them. Lance finally let go of her hand and grabbed a cookie. She did the same but still felt the tingling where his hand held hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we're getting into the action! 
> 
> Find me on Tumblr at [lightkeykid.tumblr.com](lightkeykid.tumblr.com)


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